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Voices told suspect to slash girl, he says

Montrose teenager Michael Yates told police voices in his head prompted him to slash the neck of a Montrose High School student earlier this month, according to his arrest affidavit.

Yates, 14, was charged formally Wednesday in Montrose County District Court with attempted first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree assault in connection with the throat slashing of Mallory Haulman, 17, on Nov. 11 at Montrose High.

According to the affidavit, Yates did not sleep the night of Nov. 10, and voices in his head told him to hurt a person. He went to the high school the next day with the intention of hurting someone, though he didn’t know who that would be, the affidavit said.

“Yates went on to say that it was not until he saw the female individual that the voices told him ‘her.’ Yates went on to describe following her through the parking lot and into the school where he described in detail the events of the attack,” the affidavit said.

Yates’ next court appearance was set for Dec. 9.

Haulman reportedly is back at the school and recovering from the deep cut to her neck.

Yates was not a student at the high school.

Another 14-year-old boy, who is a student at the school, is in custody without bond at Grand Mesa Youth Services on suspicion of conspiracy in the attack. That boy faces formal charges during a Dec. 4 hearing in Montrose District Court. Prosecutors have not said whether they will charge the boy as an adult or a juvenile.